The White Stone
by Sarah582
Summary: Jill goes mining one day, and when she falls through the floors of the mines she finds a large, white rock. She decides to take it home, because it might be worth something. But what will she do when it hatches? Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! This is my first fanfiction, and I hope ****it's not too horrible! XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.**

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><p>I pulled a couple bushels of hay out of the dispenser and walked around the barn, spreading them out into the troughs. I smiled and patted my cow, Nellie, on the back softly. She mooed happily. My new lamb, Nicole, bleated as she walked towards me, eager for affection. Laughing, I stroked her head a couple times and walked out of the barn.<p>

I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Jill Roarke, and I am the proud owner of Blue Moon Farm. I came here just a short year ago, when my father passed away and willed his farm to me. His close friend Takakura has been a great help in starting up the run-down farm, and now it's working it's way back up to it's former glory.

As I made my way out of the barn, I lifted my face to the warm spring sun, grateful for it after the long winter season. Yesterday I had planted lots of turnips, potatoes and strawberries. I had just barely gotten by this past season by shipping animal products and gems from the mines, so this year I wanted to save up some cash.

Although, I had taken a liking to the mines, so I was headed there again today. I had opened up a third mine for Carter, and there were some pretty nice gems in there.

I walked out the entrance of my farm, waving a greeting to Lumina. Over the bridge, past Vesta's farmland, up the path to the excavation site. It was all so familiar, but the setting was such a contrast from when everything was blanketed in a sparkling coat of white. Now it was bursting with the new life of spring, the air pleasantly warm.

Flora smiled at me as I walked into the excavation site, and I happily returned the gesture.

"Back again today, I see." She said with a laugh.

"Yep, these mines sure have grown on me!" I giggled back, pulling out my hammer and passing through the stone arch of the third mine.

I smashed away for most of the day, glancing at my watch every now and then to make sure I didn't stay too late. After a while, when I was in the really low levels of the mine - or so I assumed, anyway - I had nearly broken all the rocks on the floor, and I was determined to get all of them. I noticed one in the far corner and ran to it, lifting my hammer as I got ready to split the rock in two. Just as I was nearing the rock, my foot went farther into the ground than it should have, and I suddenly remembered the holes that were sometimes in the ground.

My goofy grin turned turned into a look of sheer horror, and I plummeted down into the darkness.

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><p><strong>I know that was really short, but hopefully the chapter<strong>**s will get longer as the story progresses. I think of this as kind of a prologue anyway.**

**I'm thinking I'll update this every Saturday, but I can't say for sure, what with school and everything.  
><strong>

**Thanks for reading!** **:D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, I am back! With another chapter, of course. Many thanks to all who reviewed!  
><strong>

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own Harvest Moon**.

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><p>I opened my bleary eyes and looked around, trying to figure out where I was. Then I remembered; I had fallen down a hole in the mines. I had no idea how many floors I'd fallen, though I figured it had to be at least ten. My side ached from when I had landed, and I'd lost a few gems on the way down it seemed.<p>

I rolled over with a groan. My hand landed in an incredibly cold pool of water, and I pulled it back as I drew in a sharp breath. It was strange; the air wasn't cold at all. In fact, it was quite a comfortable temperature. But the water… I was surprised it wasn't frozen.

I stood up and brushed myself off quickly. I looked around, trying to find the staircase. My gaze stopped, though, at a large, pearly white rock in the middle of the pool of water.

It was about four feet in height, maybe two feet in width. It was a slight oval-ish shape, like a really big egg, or something.

I walked forward, ignoring the icy water seeping into my shoes. With an outstretched hand, I stroked the stone. It was so smooth; it felt like marble. Maybe it was.

It seemed to have a… what was the word? Magical aura. I was drawn to it, for no apparent reason.

Then I thought, if it really was marble, it must be worth quite a bit. But how would I get it back up the staircase and to my farm? I wanted to go get some sprites to help me or something, but I didn't know what floor I was on so I probably wouldn't be able to find it again.

As if on cue, I heard footsteps coming from behind me. I whirled around to see Flora, and her face broke into a smile of relief.

"There you are! You were gone so long, I was worried you had gotten hurt!" she sighed.

"Gone for so long…?" I wondered aloud, puzzled. I was sure it was only four in the afternoon.

"It's almost ten thirty!" Flora informed me.

"Ten thirty!" I gasped. How long had I been passed out down here?

Suddenly, Flora's eyes widened as she looked over my shoulder.

"What is _that_?" I glanced over my shoulder, then remembered my dilemma.

"Oh, that. Uh… I don't know, I think it might be marble. Speaking of which, do you think you could help me get it out of the mines? I hope I'm not asking too much..."

Flora smiled and flicked her hand dismissively.

"I'd love to help!"

With that, she walked over to the stone and I followed suit, our shoes splashing quietly in the cold water. I bent down and wedged my fingers underneath it while Flora lifted it slightly.

Eventually, we maneuvered it all the way out of the mines. It was much lighter than I expected, so I told Flora I could carry it home on my own. I had it leaned against my chest, with my arms wrapped under it. As I walked over the bridge, I caught a glance of silver glowing in the moonlight. My head flipped towards it, and I saw Skye walking nonchalantly towards me. My laugh rang out quietly.

"Hello, Skye." I said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to be carrying a huge white rock in the middle of the night.

"Good evening, beautiful. What are you doing out so late?" Skye said in his usual smooth manner, a winning smile on his face.

"I was mining, and found this. Flora helped me get it out of the mines." I gestured to the stone in my arms with a tilt of my head.

Skye blinked and looked at it, as though just noticing it now. As I shifted it, trying to get more comfortable, his blank look turned to one of concern.

"A young maiden such as yourself shouldn't be carrying something so heavy on your own." Skye chastised me as he pulled the stone out of my arms.

"I shall carry it to your farm for you." he said with a grin.

I sighed, but let him carry it. I just prayed that he wouldn't drop it and damage it somehow.

Within minutes, Skye was visibly struggling with the weight of the rock. I offered several times to carry it, but he stubbornly refused.

When we finally made it to my farm house - I'd had to slow my pace for Skye - he set the stone on the ground and pulled his hand across his forehead.

"That," he panted, "was a piece of cake."

I just rolled my eyes. I bid him good evening, and once he left I managed to squeeze the rock into the house. I set it by the bookcase, making sure it was stable.

Glancing at the clock, I realized it was just past midnight.

_Wow, _I thought, _time sure does fly. _

I changed, then slid into bed with a satisfied sigh. After I flicked off the light, I snuggled under the covers and quickly fell into the realm of sleep.

***OoO***

_Bang, bang. _

I rolled over with a groan. Something was hitting the wall outside or something, and it had woken me up.

_Bang, bang. _

With a growl, I reached over to my bedside table and picked up one of the books that was laying there. Without getting up, I hurled it at the wall to my right. It made a satisfying _thud _as it hit the wall, then fell to the floor.

All was quiet for a few seconds. I let out a deep sigh and pulled the covers over my head to try and get back to sleep.

_Bang, bang. _

I grumbled under my breath as I threw off the blankets. My bare feet hit the cold floor, and I shivered as I walked around the small house.

_Bang, bang. _

Whirling around, I stalked towards the source of the noise. As I got closer to my bookcase, I realized the large stone I had found earlier was trembling.

_Bang! Bang! _I had found the cause of the racket. The stone rocked wildly, hitting the wall.

The hell?

Shakily, I made my way over to it and placed my hands on it. It was extremely warm, but not so much so that it was painful. There were a few cracks, though, I noticed.

A high pitched keening sound emitted from the rock, making me jump back a few steps. Though, I was pretty sure it wasn't a rock now.

Suddenly, it rocked more violently than ever, and fell onto its side. A small hole was visible in the faint moonlight.

With an earsplitting crack - maybe it only seemed so loud because it was it was nearly three in the morning - it split itself open, revealing a creature that was the same shade as the egg.

So it was an egg after all. Just not the kind I'd been thinking of when I'd made the joke.

I rubbed my eyes, not believing it. I was dreaming, right? There was no way this was real.

Because sitting in front of me on the remnants of the eggshell, was a baby dragon.

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><p><strong>Cliffhanger! :P<strong>

**Anyways, I hope this is a good chapter. I tried to make it longer than the last one.  
><strong>

**Thanks for reading, and see you all next Saturday! ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, everyone! I am not dead! I am, however, INCREDIBLY sorry that it took me over eight months to update this! School got in the way, but the main thing to blame is my horrible laziness and writer's block. I've had this chapter half written for months, not knowing how to finish it. **

**Anyway, on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.**

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><p>I rolled over with a huff, closing my eyes for the millionth time. There was some quiet scuffling, followed by a snort. Something prodded my back through the blankets draped over me.<p>

"Go away, you're not real, I'm dreaming." I muttered, waving my hand behind me.

Some more scrambling, then all was quiet. I sighed gratefully and relaxed my tensed muscles.

With a quiet 'WHOOSH', warm air was blown into my face, causing my hair to fly everywhere. I cracked open my eyes, and was met with the innocent face of the dragon that I was sure was a figment of my imagination.

Its eyes were a soft, liquid amber. They stared at me unblinkingly for at least a minute. We were locked in some sort of weird staring contest, as I refused to break contact first.

The lids of the dragon's eyes finally slid down for a fraction of a second, and a wild grin broke out across my face.

"Ha! I win!" I almost yelled, pointing right at its nose.

The dragon shrunk back, startled at my sudden outburst.

My hand dropped to the bed, and I realized just how crazy I truly was. I just had a staring contest. With a dragon? No way. Just no way.

I rolled back over and pulled the blanket over my head, eyes wide. This couldn't be reality… Could it?

Deal with it in the morning. It was still only about three thirty, so I decided to get in what little sleep I could before six o'clock came. If I was still seeing this dragon when I woke up, then I would probably go to a mental hospital.

I sighed, suddenly drowsy. I couldn't hear the dragon anymore, so I assumed it either _was _a figment of my imagination, or it had fallen asleep on the floor.

I didn't know which I'd rather. On one hand, it would be cool to have a pet dragon. It would be like a really big, much scarier guard dog! Of course I did have Rylie, my dog that Takakura had given me when I moved in. But the little thing just ran away when wild dogs showed up!

Of course, I hadn't really bothered training him with the ball Thomas had given me… But still. It would be so much cooler, too!

I giggled at the thought, then stopped abruptly. What was I_ thinking_? I couldn't actually have a dragon, even if it was real. Which it wasn't.

I nodded to no one in particular, then closed my eyes. After a while, I finally drifted into a fitful sleep.

***OoO***

"Hnn…?" I murmured, stretching my arms above my head.

I'd had the strangest dream, that the stone I'd found last night was actually a dragon egg, and it hatched, and then we had a staring contest-

My thought was cut short as I looked at my clock. It was eight already?

Oh no! I'd slept two extra hours, right through my alarm!

I jumped out of bed, pulled out my clothes and quickly changed. I pulled my chestnut hair into its signature ponytail and raced out the door.

Well, almost did. Until I smacked right into someone, causing them to fall to the ground. I caught the door frame with the tips of my fingers, preventing the same thing from happening to me. Looking down, I realized the person I'd run into was Takakura.

"Oh Goddess, I'm so sorry!" I apologized profusely and offered a hand to him. He took it gladly and smiled, the skin around his eyes crinkling slightly.

"No problem, Jill. I was just coming to see if you were awake, because I noticed you haven't let your animals out yet. Did you sleep in?" Takakura asked lightly, chuckling.

"Yeah, I just got up a couple minutes ago," I replied, my hands going behind my back in embarrassment.

Takakura backed up slightly.

"Well, I'll let you work. I'll talk to you later, Jill."

I nodded, smiling as he left. Quickly closing the door behind me, I jogged over to the barn and let out my animals. Nellie huffed at me as if to say, _About time you let us out. _Once I had brushed them both thoroughly and milked Nellie, I grabbed my watering can from my rucksack and sprinkled some water on the ground where I'd planted my crops.

I headed back inside to take a shower, pulling my gloves off and stuffing them into my rucksack. When I opened the door, I stared in dismay at the floor. There were several broken eggs, spilled bottles of milk, and some shattered dishes strewn about. In the midst of the mess sat the white dragon from the night before, looking at me innocently. With a moan, I buried my face in my hands.

_I'm hallucinating, _I thought. But I knew it wasn't true. There was no way a hallucination could break into my fridge and eat half my food. I walked over to the counter and grabbed a cloth, rinsing it in the sink. Sighing resignedly, I set to work cleaning up my ruinous kitchen.

***OoO***

An hour later, I tossed the now soiled cloth into the sink. Whirling around, I pointed a finger at the little dragon before me. It had scampered around playfully while I cleaned, tracking milk and egg all over the floor.

"I'm going to go shower," I warned it. "You better not get into anything while I'm gone. Got it?"

It sniffed my hand curiously and tilted its head in confusion at my words. I poked it's nose, causing it to pull back slightly, then walked off to the bathroom for my shower.

When I got out and made my way to the main room of my house, the dragon was curled up on my unmade bed. The regular rise and fall of its flanks made it apparent that it was asleep.

Well, at least it didn't break anything.

After a moment of debating, I decided to go outside while I had the chance. I snuck out the door, closing it quietly behind me. I started heading to the mines, to talk to Flora. Maybe I'd tell her about the dragon.

I waved a greeting to Carter, noticing him heading into the tent he shared with Flora. Was it really that late already?

In a way, that was a good thing. That way I could talk to Flora alone, and not have to worry about Carter overhearing our conversation.

I peeked into the excavation site.

"Flora?"

She was kneeling near the left wall, looking at something on the ground. When she heard my voice, she looked over her shoulder. She smiled, getting up and brushing dust off her shorts.

"Hey, Jill. What's up? You don't usually some here so late..."

I walked in slowly.

"Ah, yeah. I wanted to tell you something. About that rock you helped me get out of the mines yesterday?"

Flora's eyes lit up, and she smiled.

"Oh? Did you figure out what kind of stone it is?"

"Yes... Well, not really... Um, what I guess I'm trying to say is that it wasn't a stone."

Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Not a stone?"

"Nope. It was an egg."

"An egg? What kind of egg? How is that even possible?"

I laughed at all her childlike curiosity.

"I'm not quite sure if I've been hallucinating all day or not, but the egg was-" I leaned forward to whisper in her ear, just in case Carter came back, "-a dragon egg."

Flora gasped, her eyes going wide.

"Can I see? You know, to make sure it's real?"

I nodded, seeing the question coming.

"Sure, you can come over tomorrow if you want. I'll probably be at the farm all day, so drop by any time you're free."

Another smile broke out across Flora's face.

"Okay, it's settled then! See you tomorrow!"

I smiled back, and waved.

"See you tomorrow."

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><p><strong>Well, I'm not sure I really like how that ended, but oh well. It'll have to do. <strong>

**Once again, I'm SUPER sorry it took me so long to update, and I'll try to get another chapter up within the week.**

**I'm not quite sure where I'm going to go with this story, so if you have any suggestions, PM me! I'm open to plot ideas :D**

**If you're still with this story, then thank you, and if you're a new reader, then thanks for giving my story a try! ^^**

**See you all soon~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, that took longer than I'd hoped, but at least it's done. I feel like this story is going really slowly, not just because of my long absence, but also pace-wise. I might do a little time skip in the next chapter.**

**Anyway, here's the chapter.**

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><p>I woke the next morning to a loud knocking at the door. That seemed to happen far more often than necessary around here. It was always just a few minutes before my own alarm went off, which was programmed for six. Another quick rap came, and I grumbled as I got out of bed.<p>

I noticed the dragon hiding near my bookcase, staring at the door warily. It quickly glanced at my fridge, and I realized that it was probably hungry. I was pretty much convinced that it was real now.

But that would have to wait.

I slipped out of bed, recoiling slightly at the cold floor. I opened the door to see Mayor Thomas standing there, bright and chipper as always. He was holding a medium sized box.

"Good morning, Jill! Here's the oven you ordered. Would you like me to bring it in?"

I vaguely remembered the toaster oven I'd ordered about a week before.

"Oh, sure. You can just put it by the tool box." I said, covering my mouth as I yawned.

Thomas nodded, and I stepped back to let him in. He set the box down against the wall next to my tool box. He turned to face me, but something caught his eye and he seemed somewhat shocked. I followed his gaze. A white, very familiar tail was poking out from underneath my bed. Thomas looked away, then at me.

"Well, I'll be going now. Enjoy your new oven!" he said, a smile on his face again.

"Yes, thank you." I returned the smile.

Soon, I was all alone in my house again. Well, not completely alone.

Strange snuffling noises came from under my bed. I lifted up the blanket hanging over the side, and the dragon looked up at me with one of my socks on its head. I sighed and picked up my sock, tossing it into the laundry hamper in my bathroom.

I walked over to my dresser, pulling out my clothes and quickly changing. I was about to leave for the day, but then thought better of it. I turned, staring the the dragon, which was currently occupied with sniffing curiously at my bookshelf. I walked toward it slowly, trying to sneak up on it. It wasn't that hard. Once I was close enough, I tackled the small creature. It thrashed and made a high-pitched whining sound that hurt my ears.

I managed to drag it to my bathroom, closing the door behind me. I released the dragon, and it huffed indignantly, going to sit in the corner farthest from me.

Out on my fields, the sun was shining brightly. My animals grazed happily in the pasture, my crops swaying with a gentle breeze. Every now and then I would see my dog run by, chasing after butterflies.

It was about noon when Flora showed up, and I had just finished brushing my animals. I waved, walking toward her. She smiled back.

"So, here to see a certain mythical creature?" I said.

Flora nodded, her eyes shining.

"I can't wait to see it! I real live dragon..."

I opened the door, motioning for Flora to walk in first. I followed behind her and shut the door silently.

Flora looked around my small house.

"Where is it?"

I smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, it's locked in the bathroom. Yesterday when I left it in the main room it got into my fridge and broke a bunch of stuff." I explained.

She nodded as if she could completely relate with the situation.

I headed over to the bathroom, Flora close behind. When I peeked inside, the dragon noticed me and looked in my direction. It was sitting beside the sink, with a destroyed bar of soap on the counter beside it. My toothpaste was all over the counter and the floor, the empty tube discarded in a corner.

"What am I going to do with you? I can't even leave you alone for a few hours!" I said in exasperation as I made my way through the bathroom, carefully avoiding the sticky blue toothpaste smeared on the tile.

The dragon stared at me, oblivious to my annoyance. Its gaze quickly shifted to Flora, who was standing by the doorframe with wide eyes. Suddenly everything was a blur. The dragon jumped off the counter and rushed at Flora, who backed away in shock. I tried to grab the dragon, but it was too late. It pounced on Flora, knocking her to the ground. It sniffed at her hands and face. After a few moments, it seemed to lose interest and walked back over to me.

Flora sat up, her glasses askew.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it would do that. It was scared of Mayor Thomas this morning..."

Flora got to her feet, smiling.

"Really, it's fine. It's just so cool that you actually have a dragon!"

She kneeled down again, closer to the dragon. She patted her knees lightly. The dragon trotted over and looked up into her face. After a moment of hesitation, Flora reached out her hand and gently stroked the dragon's head.

"It's like a puppy," Flora said.

I simply nodded in agreement, not realizing it before.

Flora looked up at me.

"Have you named it?"

The question took me off guard. I hadn't even considered it, really.

"Not really. I don't even know if it's a boy or a girl."

Flora frowned, then picked the dragon up and flipped it onto its back. The dragon squealed in protest. It wasn't of much use, really. The scales of its belly extended smoothly to the tip of its tail, rounding into a point.

A sudden sparkle in the corner of my eye distracted me. A small figure with a yellow shirt and a matching hat was standing off to one side. A harvest sprite. I hired them sometimes to help me with my farm work. It studied the dragon for a moment, then glanced up at me.

"That's a female dracling."

I just stared at it, dumbfounded. How could it even tell?

As if it knew exactly what I was thinking, the sprite walked toward the dragon. It was now back on its feet, shooting a glare at Flora. The sprite reached out to trace the curve of the dragon's wing.

"The edge of the wing is an arc, bent like a bow. Male dragon wings are more angular." the sprite explained. I nodded slowly, absorbing the information.

The sprite just smiled, then disappeared with a shimmer.

I cleared my throat lightly.

"I'm just going to guess that it's a girl." I lied, hoping I sounded normal.

Flora nodded as if that made perfect sense.

"So any ideas for a name?"

I shook my head.

"Not really..."

I started to run through possible names. Well, she was white... Maybe Snowy, or Cloudy...

The dragon looked at me and snorted. Oh great, she could read my mind, too?

Flora laughed quietly, and got up off the floor.

"Well, I should probably get going. Tell me if anything interesting happens!" she said, then waved as she left.

I sat down on the floor and patted the dragon's head absently. Now that the idea had been planted in my head, I really wanted to find a name for her. It was kind of bothersome just referring to her as 'the dragon' all the time.

The dragon's stomach made a weird growling noise, making me laugh. She glared at me.

"I guess you're hungry, huh?" I asked, making my way to the fridge.

I opened the door and looked inside. There really wasn't much, considering she'd eaten pretty much everything the day before. There was some cabbage, which I held out to the dragon. She turned her head away as if it smelled bad.

After a while of holding out random things, all of them being rejected, she finally accepted a few pieces of cheese. They were soon gone, and she sniffed the ground, looking for more. She looked up me with her huge amber eyes, pleading for something else to eat. I patted her head softly.

"Sorry, there's nothing else you would eat. Maybe if you weren't so picky..." I trailed off.

The dragon huffed at me and went to sit in the corner, curling her tail around herself like a cat.

I glanced at my wall clock, which read two in the afternoon. I was done all of my farm work, so I was free to wander around the valley and socialize with everyone. Instead, I grabbed my fishing pole and headed to the river near the entrance to my farm. I figured the dragon might like fish.

I was there for a while, maybe a couple of hours. Muffy stopped and talked with me for a while, which was nice.

At around four thirty, I grabbed my bucket of fish and headed back to the farm house. I opened the door cautiously, scared at what I might find.

Thankfully, everything was as I'd left it, the dragon asleep in the corner. She looked at me when I walked in, her gaze quickly shifting to the bucket in my hands.

She was suddenly at my feet, sniffing curiously at the fish. Her stomach growled again.

"I wonder if you can eat raw fish..." I said to myself as I picked up a fish and held it out to the dragon. She quickly grabbed it between her teeth and took it to her corner. I watched as she devoured it, bones and all. She was back just minutes later, begging for more. I lifted another out of the bucket and she snapped it up in seconds. It was slightly larger, an she dragged it on the floor.

This was crazy. If she ate this much now, how much would she eat when she got bigger?

As I stared at her, tearing at her fish, an idea for a name popped into my head.

She had brought total chaos into my life.

Her name would be Pandora.

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><p><strong>So what do you think of the dragon's name? It took me forever to think of something that fit, but I think this works. <strong>

**Also, I think I'm going to make my update schedule maybe once or twice per month, because I'll be going back to school soon and I don't want to keep you guys expecting chapters every week when I probably won't be able to post that fast. I'm a slow writer OTL**

**Again, if you have any plot suggestions or ideas, PM me! If I like your idea and think it fits with the story, I might use it and I'll give you credit, of course.**

**Thanks for reading, and sticking with this story!**


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